New Brunswick Was His Country

The Life of William Francis Ganong

Regularly described as New Brunswick’s greatest scholar, William Francis Ganong (1864-1941) wrote more than many people have ever read. His range of interests is reflected in his vast body of work: botany, zoology, physiography, cartography, and native languages were all within his reach. But his greatest interest, subsuming all others, was New Brunswick.

Ganong endeavoured to write even his most scholarly papers for the general reader, and that is what historian Ronald Rees had done with New Brunswick Was His Country. An appreciation of Ganong’s work and a biography of the man behind it, rather than an exhaustive critical assessment, this fascinating overview will appeal to any reader interested in the natural and settlement history of New Brunswick and the working life of its most extraordinary scholar, from his summers conducting field research in Passamaquoddy Bay to his pivotal role in founding the New Brunswick Museum.

Richly illustrated with historical photographs, Ganong’s own maps and drawings, and contemporary images, New Brunswick Was His Country is an essential addition to Atlantic Canada’s historical canon.

Ronald Rees is a former professor of historical geography who taught at the University of Saskatchewan and, as adjunct professor, at Mount Allison University in New Brunswick. He has written books on the landscape and settlement of the Canadian prairies, on garden history, on science and industry in nineteenth­century Wales, and on United Empire Loyalist settlements in the Maritimes. He was born in Wales and for the past twenty­five years has lived in St. Andrews, New Brunswick.